The invention relates to aircraft passenger chairs arranged in rows and columns in a passenger aircraft cabin. Such chairs are normally equipped with a support frame, a seat, and a backrest supported by the support frame. Conventionally, an adjustment mechanism permits adjusting the backrest from an upright position to a back leaning rest position.
Increasing the comfort for the passenger is an ever-present goal for aircraft manufacturers. For example, adjusting an aircraft passenger seat from a normal sitting position into a bed position is disclosed in German Patent Publication DE 197 42 773 A1. Further, it is known from European Patent Publication EP 322 930 A2 to increase the width of a passenger seat crosswise to the forward direction for increasing a passenger""s comfort.
Another concern in the construction of passenger seats is the desire for a rapid boarding and deplaning or deboarding of the passenger aircraft to reduce the ground time also referred to as turn-around time which has an influence on the profitability of the operation of the aircraft.
Currently there exists a time consuming problem because during boarding and deboarding passengers block the aisles by trying to place their carry-on luggage into overhead luggage bins or removing such luggage from the bins. By standing in the aisles while handling their carry-on luggage passengers prevent other passengers from proceeding to their assigned seats or rather chairs having seats whereby the loading or unloading procedure suffers substantial delays. While each passenger may not need too much time, the sum total of the time wasted in this manner is substantial and has a negative influence on the ground time of a passenger aircraft. The ground or turn-around time must be reduced to increase an aircraft""s profitability.
In view of the above it is the aim of the invention to achieve the following objects singly or in combination:
to construct an aircraft passenger chair or groups of chairs in such a manner that a passenger rather than standing in the aisle for access to a luggage bin, can stand in the space between two rows of seats to thereby permit other passengers to pass by;
to facilitate the cleaning operation by providing better access to a row of chairs; and
to control, preferably centrally from the cockpit, the forward, tilting operation of a backrest so that the backrest can be placed into a forward position during boarding, deboarding and cleaning, but preferably prevented or subject to a special control during flight, while a backward or counterclockwise tilting shall be possible at all times.
The above objects have been achieved according to the invention in that an aircraft passenger chair equipped with a support frame, a slidable seat and a backrest mounted to the support frame comprises a position adjustment mechanism coupled to the support frame and to the backrest for turning or tilting the backrest in the counterclockwise direction. Additionally, a coupling lever connects the backrest to the slidable seat so that the seat is moved back when the backrest is manually tilted from a normal upright position into a forwardly inclined position above the respective seat to provide more space in front of a next seat in a column of seats. A backrest according to the invention is capable of taking up three basic positions, namely a fully forward inclined position independently of the adjustment mechanism, an upright position, and a fully backwardly inclined position and possibly positions inbetween. The clockwise positioning is independent of the adjustment mechanism which performs only the counterclockwise adjustment.
In an emergency the backrest can be tilted forward even more so that the back surfaces of the backrests can be used by passengers to move to exits.
Incidentally, the terms xe2x80x9cforwardxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbackwardxe2x80x9d as used herein have reference to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and the flight direction.
It is a special advantage of the invention that the comfort of the passengers has been combined with an increased profitability of the aircraft. More specifically, a passenger can adjust the backrest to his desires and additionally during boarding or deplaning can handle the carry-on luggage by standing between two rows of seats without blocking an aisle to the discomfort of other passengers. Boarding and deplaning is sped up because passengers do not need to wait in the aisles. By bringing the backrest into a forward or so-called parking position while the aircraft is on the ground, the available space between seat rows is increased so that a passenger can stand between two seat rows temporarily to have access to the luggage bin. Thus, the aisles need no longer be blocked by passengers handling their carry-on luggage. These features substantially reduce the ground time of the aircraft, thereby reducing the so-called turn around time which contributes to the profitability of the operation of the aircraft.